Sports Figure. He invented the game of Basketball in 1891. Born in rural Ontario, Canada, both his parents died while he was still in grade school and his grandparents and then an uncle were left to care and raise him. Becoming an ordained minister and a medical doctor, he took a job teaching physical education at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. There he created the game of basketball, intending to introduce a game that allowed exercise indoors, by using two peach basket hoops, a soccer ball and 13 simple rules. He later came to the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1898 , filling the dual post of Athletics director and chapel director. He initiated the first collegiate Jayhawks basketball game at the University. Throughout his lifetime he never received any fame or fortune from the sport he created, and only after his passing in 1939 was enormous recognition heaped upon him. For his historic invention, Naismith's name adorns the Basketball Hall of Fame located in downtown, Springfield, Massachusetts. Streets and buildings in Springfield and Lawrence are named in tribute. The sport he invented has evolved into a game that more than 300 million people play worldwide, with professional leagues on every Continent. (bio by: Find A Grave)